F1 Business Diary 2014: the Singapore Grand Prix

The Singapore Grand Prix delivered another twist in this year’s thrilling, all-Mercedes battle for the Formula One world championship, on a weekend when Formula One shuffled closer towards the 21st century.

Let nobody tell you that the Singapore Grand Prix is in the process of establishing itself as one of Formula One’s marquee events. It already has. The glamorous location, glittering backdrop and the convenience of a party-friendly schedule combine each year to attract high-rolling sponsors and eager-to-be-seen celebrities (potty-mouth chef Gordon Ramsey wasn’t actually in the Grand Prix, despite his central role on the TV feed). But the race’s popularity amongst fans also plays a central role in its success. Race organisers, who hold concerts throughout the weekend, this year featuring the likes of Jennifer Lopez, John Legend and Robbie Williams, confirmed on Sunday that a total of 253,362 people had visited Marina Bay over three days, including 84,454 general ticket, grandstand and hospitality guests for the race itself.

Air traffic control

After replacing telecoms firm Singtel as the title sponsor of the sport’s only fully floodlit race, Singapore Airlines made its debut as a Formula One sponsor over the weekend, taking significant yellow, white and blue trackside branding on the run-off areas at the first and final corners. Singapore’s national carrier thus became the fifth major airline to join Formula One’s central sponsorship roster, alongside perennial Australian Grand Prix sponsor Qantas; Gulf Air and Etihad, sponsors, respectively, of the Bahrain and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix; and Emirates, which signed a major deal to become a trackside sponsor around the world in February 2013. At the time it signed its contract, Emirates was sold rights to all races except those featuring existing airline deals. Singapore Airlines’ signing of a two-year contract in April this year, however, presented a clash, leading to the unusual situation on Sunday of two airlines sharing branding rights around the Marina Bay Circuit.

Force-field

Vijay Mallya was in a jolly mood on Sunday evening, posting a series of Twitter messages complimenting his team, Force India, on regaining fifth place in the constructors’ championship following seventh and ninth place finishes in Singapore. His team have now moved ahead of McLaren by six points in what Mallya called a ‘ding gong battle with the former world champions and much richer McLaren’, with five races left. Earlier in the weekend, Mallya was given the chance to set the record straight on his current financial position – his Kingfisher Airlines business is debt-ridden – and how that might impact upon the team. Asked by the Press Association’s Ian Parkes about Sahara investor Subrata Roy, who is also facing a little difficulty at home, Mallya said: “The agreement between Sahara and myself is that they’re shareholders in the team. I have asked them if they would like to change the situation and they said no, they want to stay in.” Mallya added: “I’ve always managed and run the team which is doing better than it ever has in its history and we’re going forward from here.”

Joining the conversation

The biggest surprise of the Singapore weekend was the awakening of the official Formula One Twitter account, which has spent the last few years churning out the odd link here and there but done little to enhance fans’ enjoyment and understanding of Grands Prix. But, following the expansion of the sport’s official app this year and with a website revamp believed to be underway, in Singapore @F1 was suddenly delivering bespoke graphics, TV screengrabs of key moments and even interacting with teams’ official accounts – all of this complemented by TV graphics asking fans to ‘Join the conversation’ and posting hashtags. These are baby-steps, of course, especially when compared to the sophisticated way other major global sports properties use social media as a tool for engagement, but they are better late than never. Teams, though, remain frustratingly restricted in what they can and can’t do or film inside Grand Prix venues: In a superb piece of circumnavigation, the crafty devils at Red Bull Racing were forced to produce a film celebrating Daniel Ricciardo’s Canadian Grand Prix victory earlier this year by piecing together hundreds of individual photos to give the impression of movement. In the build-up to the Singapore Grand Prix, the world champions were at it again, releasing this strangely compelling video which followed team principal Christian Horner around its Milton Keynes headquarters:

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